Blue Mustang: The Demon Horse of the Denver International Airport

What a tough day the Denver Broncos had yesterday. Not only do they have to head home as owners of one of the worst losses in Superbowl history, but their return will take them across the path of Blue Mustang, the towering 32-foot tall demon horse who guards the entrance and exit to Denver International Airport. A giant electric blue stallion with glowing red eyes, the rearing four and a half ton beast is lit from beneath, throwing his hellish face into high relief and revealing bulging red veins and an aggressively anatomically correct undercarriage. Looming menacingly over Peña Boulevard, the main road to and from the airport, Blue Mustang has earned a variety of half-joking, half-serious sobriquets from Denver locals, from “Blucifer” and “Satan’s Steed” to “Bizarro Mr. Ed.”

First installed in 2008 to immediate public objection, the sculpture was the creation of artist Luis Jiménez, known for his bold and occasionally controversial art featuring vibrant colors and irreverent takes on Chicano and Frontier themes. Sadly, Jiménez did not live to see the completion of Blue Mustang, as a portion of the unfinished sculpture fell on the artist in his studio in 2006, killing him and earning immediate rumors of the statue being cursed or haunted (or both). Small wonder that many describe the luridly terrifying figure in cobalt as nothing short of demonic.

Of course, Denver International Airport is no stranger to peculiarities. Since its opening in 1995, conspiracy theories have swirled around the airport, from its immense size and infrastructure spawning rumors of underground bunkers to the bizarreart and occult symbols said to be scattered throughout the terminals. What could be more fitting, then, than a giant blue horse with blazing eyes to guard its entrance? One look through the gallery of Blue Mustang images below and it is clear that there may be worse things under heaven and earth than a Superbowl loss, kittens.

The people in charge of public art in Denver certainly seem to understand the use of art to stimulate discussion, because they do commission some boldly bizarre and controversial pieces. I for one love it!